Arabica prices climb on weather worries

NEW YORK/LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE climbed on Monday in its first positive close in seven sessions, lifted by forecasts indicating that frost-inducing cold weather could hit southern Brazil in the coming days.

COFFEE

* September arabica coffee settled up 1.4 cent, or 1.4 percent, at $1.0115 per lb., rebounding after earlier hitting a more-than-one-month low of 98.75.

* There is a risk of frost in the state of Parana and in southern Minas Gerais this weekend and next week, said traders, citing Brazilian forecaster Somar Meteorologia.

* A frost scare in early July sent arabica prices to 2019 highs, but prices have since fallen as the crop damage from the frost appeared minimal.

* The front month contract shed 5.8% last week, its biggest weekly loss in nearly two years.

* September robusta coffee settled up $27, or 2 percent, at $1,371 per tonne, having hit its lowest since late May at $1,348.

* Coffee exports from top robusta grower Vietnam were seen falling 7.6% in the first seven months of the year, government data showed.

COCOA

* September New York cocoa settled down $6, or 0.3%, at $2,383 per tonne, having hit its lowest since early June at $2,366.

* Cocoa arrivals at ports in top-grower Ivory Coast reached 2.127 million tonnes for the Oct. 1 2018 to July 28 period, exporters estimated, up about 9% year on year.

* Second-largest producer Ghana produced 794,841 tonnes of cocoa this season, or about 88% of its 900,000-tonne forecast, the country’s finance minister said.

* September London cocoa settled up 16 pounds, or 0.9%, at 1,841 pounds a tonne, lifted by the weaker sterling.

* The British pound plunged to a more-than-two-year low against the US dollar as investors scrambled to factor in the risk of a no-deal Brexit and the possibility of a snap election.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar settled up 0.05 cent, or 0.4%, at 12.07 cents per lb.

* Market participants continue to weigh signals of plentiful near-term supplies, such as large global stockpiles and massive deliveries of sugar against ICE futures contracts, with signals of a drop in future global production.

* October white sugar settled up $1.10, or 0.3%, at $322.10 per tonne, having hit its highest in nearly a month at $325.60.

* Farmers who own shares in Australia’s Mackay Sugar have voted to accept a takeover offer from Germany’s Nordzucker, helping secure the company’s future against a backdrop of depressed sugar prices.